Cayuga Heights

Cayuga Heights is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 3,729 at the 2010 census.

The Village of Cayuga Heights is in the Town of Ithaca, north of the City of Ithaca. The village is also north of the main campus of Cornell University.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2), all of it land.

The village is at the south end of Cayuga Lake, one of the Finger Lakes.

Cayuga Heights borders, on its north, the Village of Lansing.

White Buffalo

125 deer per square mile (based on a total of 225 deer) calculated in January 2013. Sterilization surgery with 98% of female deer treated, and observed mortality rates, resulted in about a 39% population decline over two years

Deer Vaccinated Against Pregnancy, ABCNews, July 21, 2017?A four-year study at the former Seneca Army Depot on a captive herd showed about an 85 percent decrease in fawns, said Paul Curtis, a wildlife biologist at Cornell University. But Curtis found in a study this year that the home range for female deer in Cayuga Heights is 80 to 150 acres, so birth control could have an impact even where deer aren’t fenced. He figures the maximum range would be a couple of square miles. Cayuga Heights, at 1.8 square miles, is small and densely populated with about 70 deer per square mile, 30 percent more than New York’s average. Because it might be cheaper, scientists also are discussing surgically sterilizing does using donated time from the college veterinary staff. The cost is about $200 per deer for the 10-minute, one-time procedure compared with about $250 per deer for each vaccination.

Population Analysis for White-tailed Deer in the Village of Cayuga Heights, New York, 1 April 2016, Paul D. Curtis and Michael L.Ashdown, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell UniversityThe total number of marked deer that were identifiable in the pictures was 53. The possible total number of marked deer in the Village of Cayuga Heights used for analysis was 59, as there were 6 tagged deer seen in 2015 that were not observed in 2016. For deer that were not collared, and not moving with a radio-collared deer, it was impossible to know for certain if they were still in the community and alive.

INTERIM SUMMARY REPORTYear 4 – 2016 Deer Research Program
Village of Cayuga Heights, New YorkIn Year 2, 12 females were captured and sterilized with no untagged females remaining. The population had decline by 30% after the first year based on Cornell’s camera survey. During the third year, 48 deer where culled using archery equipment, and no deer were sterilized, reducing the population to ~100 deer in March 2015; a 55% reduction since Year 1. In Year 4, a second archery culling effort was implemented and 24 deer were removed, reducing the population to ~70 based on Cornell’s most recent population estimate. The intent of this initiative was to capture all remaining untagged female deer.

Deer Management Focus Areas, 2016-2017 NY DEChe Deer Management Focus Area in central Tompkins County is intended to help communities in the Ithaca area manage the burden of overabundant deer populations by intensifying deer hunting opportunities. The focus area program (PDF brochure, 1.1 MB) provides more time and more tags to hunters who can gain access to huntable land. DEC will evaluate this new approach over the next several years and, depending on the results, may consider designation of other locations as deer management focus areas.

Population Analysis for White-tailed Deer in the Village of Cayuga Heights, New York, April 2015Since deer capture and tagging were completed in December 2012, there have been 43 recorded deaths for marked deer through 1 April, 2015 (Tables 3, 4, and 5). This total does not include the 48 deer removed by White Buffalo, Inc., via the NYSDEC Deer Damage Permit (see below, Table 6). Sixteen of those 43 deer (37.2%) died as a result of deer vehicle collisions. Fifteen of the 43 deer (34.9%) were legally killed by hunters on Cornell University lands. Seven deer (16.3%) died from other causes. One deer (2.3%) died shortly after release in 2012, and this animal was presumed to have succumbed from complications associated with either capture or surgery. It was not possible to determine the cause of death for four deer (9.3%) because their carcasses were too decomposed when found

Are we helpless?

"The native plants are tramped down, the bushes are gnawed, and my three-year-old grandson can't play in the back yard because of the deer droppings. If humans entered our property and exacted such a toll we would have legal recourse We're watching the curb appeal and property value decline at a time when our taxes are rising. We are without defense."
M. Holland, Ann Arbor resident